Schenn to play important role in first season

VOORHEES, N.J. - The Flyers’ top two call-up candidates on defense are hurt. Three veteran defenders- Kimmo Timonen, Andrej Meszaros and seldom used Andreas Lilja- are coming off offseason surgeries. This for a team that lost arguably its best defenseman, Matt Carle, to the Tampa Bay Lightning via free agency in July.

What it adds up to is one obvious conclusion with a “season” that will consist of 48 games over 98 days looming ominously: Luke Schenn’s introduction to Philadelphia will be an intense one.

At 23, Schenn would be considered young for an NHL defenseman. At 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds and with a knowledge of how to use his size, however, he was cast into a position in Toronto that enabled him to gain a wealth of experience at an inordinately young age for someone patrolling the blue line.

Of course, it being Toronto, it also cast him in a frequently harsh spotlight.

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Luke Schenn? Too slow, some media fans said. Could hit more, others offered. Didn’t do this or couldn’t do that or maybe a change in scenery would help him...

But hey, hard to please is the Toronto way, since the city considers itself the center of the hockey universe. And so what if the Maple Leafs haven’t made the playoffs since 2004?

“Every individual in every circumstance is different,” said Schenn, the elder brother of gifted Flyers forward Brayden Schenn. “Some players can handle it better than others. My first couple of years there went great. I played a lot and had pretty good success. For people to say now whether it was success or failure for me, I’ll let them decide. But I felt it was a good experience and it’s part of developing.”

Being raised as a teen in professional hockey is tough enough. Entering the NHL as an 18-year-old defenseman, as Schenn did in 2008? That simply doesn’t happen. Nor should it.

“As a forward, you have a second line of defense to bail you out,” Schenn said. “If you make a mistake on defense, you’ll get exposed for it pretty good. You can take a lot of heat for that. But it’s all part of it. ... There’s a lot of hype there when you’re a young player coming in. They haven’t made the playoffs in a while, so every new guy that comes in, you’re expected to be a part of that and quickly turns things around. Sometimes that’s a long process and you can’t turn things around right away. So people get antsy a little bit. They second-guess you a little bit. I’m not saying that was the case ... Playing with that pressure surrounding you from the media and the fans and everyone watching, it was good experience at a young age.”

Schenn, by the way, was interviewed for this story about an hour before Brian Burke was removed from his general manager’s chair in Toronto Wednesday. So after seeing first-hand what a circus life with the Maple Leafs can be, he figures to be able to handle this transition to the Flyers.

“If you have team success, there isn’t as much finger-pointing going on,” said Schenn, who came to the Flyers in a trade for James van Riemsdyk. “But it can affect everyone from the top of the roster to the bottom of the roster. Looking back, it was almost a good experience to have to deal with it. Mentally, maybe it makes you a little stronger.”

South Philly is a long way from Toronto, but the glare along Broad Street can be harsh in its own light. And with a thin defense in front of a goalie who does his best work when the defense is consistent in keeping traffic light ... well, suffice to say there’s going to be a lot of pressure on this second Schenn that’s joining the Flyers.

Not that he can’t handle it alone, but a little familial help will be welcome.

“If you were to ask about anyplace to get traded to, this would be the spot, because of the organization and (Brayden) being here,” the elder Schenn said. “We always dreamed about playing together, but we thought if it was a possibility it would probably happen later on in our careers.”

Luke said the last time he’d played on a team with now 21-year-old Brayden was when their father coached them in youth hockey when the kids were barely old enough to go to school.

“It’s been a long time,” Luke said. “We always followed each other and pushed each other in the summers, and trained together. But I never had the chance to play with him, and doing it, especially in the NHL, it’s going to be unbelievable.”

The reunion could start in earnest today, as Brayden has been released from his work during the lockout with the Adirondack Phantoms. He didn’t do so badly there, leading the team in scoring with 13 goals and 33 points, an average of a point per game. While the younger Schenn seemed set as a second-line center with the Flyers, there is some sentiment that he’ll be a perfect complement to center Claude Giroux and left winger Scott Hartnell on the Flyers’ top line when the club opens the season in a Jan. 19 matinee with the Pittsburgh Penguins at Wells Fargo Center.

That remains to be seen, and is only one intriguing aspect for any returning Flyers fans to focus on.

Of course, there are other questions for fans of this team to ponder. Such as how this defense might fare under a crushing schedule that, on average, demands a game every other day. If anything, Luke Schenn should help make the answer easier to swallow.

“If you’re traded here, I don’t think anything’s going to be given to you, that’s for sure,” Schenn said. “I definitely have to work for it but I’m looking forward to the new opportunity here and a fresh start.”